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The shooting of a 15-year-old girl, Anabell Flores, has shaken the community of Oceanside. Police believe she may have been intentionally targeted. NBC 7’s Liberty Zabala reports. (Published Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016)

A 15-year-old girl was found shot to death on a playground structure at a park in Oceanside early Saturday morning in what police believe was a "targeted" attack.

The Oceanside Police Department (OPD) said officers were called to Balderrama Park in the 700 block of San Diego Street just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday to investigate reports of shots fired in the area.

NBC 7 spoke with the sister of the slain teen on Saturday as well as several friends who identified the victim as Anabell Flores. Her loved ones were distraught. They gave personal photographs of Flores to NBC 7 and shared a few details about the teen.

Anabell Flores, 15.
Photo credit: Courtesy Handout for NBC 7

"Everybody loved Anabell; she was the best of life," said friend Nadia Musoke.

The teen's family and friends told NBC 7 Flores loved hanging out at Balderrama Park with her friends, and considered the playground home.

In March 2013, four teens -- including Melanie Virgen, 13, and Edgar Sanchez Rios, 16 -- were gunned down at Libby Lake Park in Oceanside. Rios and Virgen died, while the other two teens survived the shooting. The suspects in that slaying were sentenced earlier this year.

Before that, in May 2011, the bodies of teens Fernando Felix Solano, 16, and Sandra Salgado, 14, were found shot to death near Libby Lake Park.

A community impacted by gang activity, Oceanside continues to rebuild after the violent tragedies, promoting a better life for youth through mentoring programs such as the Vista Community Clinic’s Project REACH.

With each violent shooting, the community has been shaken to its core. Parents in Oceanside say they are outraged and frustrated that these types of shootings keep happening – robbing teens of their lives.